Before Weight Loss Surgery in Lebanon

YOUR FIRST CONSULTATION WITH DR SAFA

Before Weight Loss Surgery in Lebanon, at Advanced BMI: you will be required to make an appointment with Dr Safa for the following reasons:

In order to verify your health condition, your current body mass index (BMI) and a physical exam: you will be weighed and your height will be measured in order to determin your body mass index (BMI)

With this information Dr Safa will determine if you are a viable candidate for bariatric surgery.

The next step is for you to ask questions of your own. Dr Safa will clarify different surgical techniques, including the benefits and risks of each one. It is at this time that you should ask any questions you may have and ensure that you fully understand what the surgery entails.

Once your surgery type is determined, appointments will be made. These include pre-admission testing and evaluations, and cover:

You will be provided with either a one-week or a two-week supply of a low carbohydrate/high protein diet, depending on your current weight. This will cause a reduction in the size of the liver, thus limiting the risk of surgery complications. The diet is crucial before weight loss surgery and will result in a small weight reduction, giving you a great ‘head start’ in achieving your weight loss goals.

Appropriate Steps Before and After Surgery

Laparoscopic weight loss surgery will change your life! It is imperative that you do your research and completely understand the potential benefits as well as the risks, and to carefully and meticulously follow instructions from Advanced BMI Team.

Depending on your BMI, your operation should last from 40 to 90 minutes. This will also depend on what type of surgery has been chosen, plus any previous surgeries you may have had. Following your operation, you will be taken to a recovery room where you will awaken from the anaesthetic. During this period, the nursing staff will be checking on you very closely.

After your time in the recovery room, you will be taken to your own room where you will receive oxygen for the first day, with your blood oxygen levels being continuously monitored using an oxygen saturation-monitoring device. This is purely a precaution, because at least 40% of very obese patients have sleep apnoea, or Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome. These conditions, together with anaesthetic, can result in harmful low blood oxygen levels.

Discomfort and pain are minimized with the laparoscopic approach. Immediately following the surgery, you may experience some abdominal discomfort – this is caused by the carbon dioxide gas which is used for inflation during surgery. The gas is removed as much as possible at the end of the surgery, and any remaining gas is absorbed into the blood and removed by breathing it out from your lungs during the following 36 hours. The pain and discomfort from this could be quite unpleasant on the night of your surgery, and your nurse will provide you with relief by offering pain medications.

Before weight loss surgery, many recommendations will be given to you. You will be expected to actively participate in your own care following your surgery: by working with nursing staff you can prevent complications and promote natural healing. Breathing exercises every hour should be undertaken as soon as you awaken from surgery. Coughing and deep breathing are required to clear the lungs from mucus, which develops following anaesthesia. Also on the day of your surgery, you will be helped by a nurse to get out of bed and sit on a chair. In the following days, you will be assisted with frequent walks and for longer distances. It is very important that you get out of bed for good circulation, ridding the body of secretions, and expanding your lungs. You may experience some pain and feel a little dizzy and weak when you initially get up, but this is normal. These sensations will be reduced by moving around slowly, and they will eventually go away.

The Dietitian’s Role

There are many technical challenges with weight loss surgery, and with the added complexity of both pre and postsurgical care, most specialized centers today prefer a team approach. The team should include bariatric surgeons, dietitians, psychologists, pulmonologists, endocrinologists, and primary care physicians.

It is the role of the Advanced BMI’s dietitian to assist you in making appropriate dietary changes, consistent with your surgery.

Before weight loss surgery, the Advanced BMI dietitian will help prepare your kitchen and ensure you have the appropriate appliances – such as a food processor, a blender, measuring cups and spoons – and he/she will check that you have the correct foods for your transition diet once discharged from the hospital. The dietitian will also be available to you for counseling during the first three-month post-surgery period, and thereafter when required.

Advanced BMI Dietitian will perform a nutritional assessment, which will include the following:

The history of your weight

Any previous weight-loss attempts

The social, professional, and cultural factors that may be affecting your weight

Your alcohol intake

Dietary patterns

Your physical activity levels

Your physical limitations

Your level of motivation in making long-term changes

With all the above information at hand, the dietitian can accurately identify any barriers that could affect the success of your bariatric surgery.

Besides, the dietitian will work with you to create a preoperative nutritional plan, which will be in effect until your surgery date has been set. Recommendations could include the reduction of high-in-fat foods, having meal-replacement shakes for breakfast, reducing your intake of sweet foods, packing a lunch instead of eating fast food on the run, having fruit as snacks, replacing your evening snack for half a meal-replacement shake, and taking some dietary supplements. The dietitian’s role is vital to the success or failure of your bariatric surgery.

The Psychologist’s Role

Some patients seeking bariatric surgery have a history of depression and/or compulsive eating (psychological disorders). However, psychological disorders do have a tendency to improve following weight loss surgery.

Morbid obesity is the result of a combination of many factors, all coming together to create problems that never end. Compulsive eating is a very common disorder and it plays a huge role in gaining weight: it is responsible for poor outcomes following surgery for weight loss.

The weight loss surgery does make it difficult to consume large quantities of food, but it does not make it impossible, nor does it make the compulsion to eat go away. This, unfortunately, is the reason why many compulsive eaters will regain a lot of their lost weight around ten years post-surgery. Psychological screening provides an accurate sense of which patients should do well after surgery, and which patients could struggle. If Dr Safa refers you to the psychologist pre-surgery then he is looking for a psychological baseline in order to help you more effectively following surgery.

Again, following surgery, Dr Safa may request a follow-up appointment with the psychologist for one or more of several reasons:

compulsive overeating

marital or sexual problems

dissatisfaction with body image

suicidal thoughts, and/or

‘Addiction Transfer’

Call us : +961 76 377 376

IMPORTANT NOTICE

If you are candidate for Weight Loss Surgery, and wish to know which surgery is best for you, fill out the Patient Questionnaire, and our team will help you decide.